Beginnings Are Ends Too
by zombieslayer5
Summary: "Merle knew Daryl loved gummy worms. That's why he stole them." AU. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey all... My writing process for my other story is all backed up, and maybe starting yet another will help. Probably not. *avoids disproving looks* **

**Disclaimer: I do not own TWD or any of its OCs. Just using the for my amusement**

**Chapter 1 - Gummy Worms**

Merle knew Daryl loved gummy worms. That's why he stole them.

It hadn't been hard - walking aimlessly around the drugstore for half an hour to divert suspicion and then snatching the jumbo bag as soon as the cashier let his guard down. He tucked the colorful snacks under his jacket and booked it out of there. Clean get away.

What was more difficult for Merle was keeping the candy under his bed for a whole week, awaiting his baby brother's birthday. The deliciously chewy snacks called to him well he lay in his bed at night, coaxing him to take a bite. He'd glance at Daryl's sleeping form cautiously before sneaking a sweet wiggly worm. One turned into two, turned into three, turned into half the bag. That's where Merle put his foot down. The rest were for his baby brother. Thankfully, the week was almost up.

The day Daryl's birthday finally arrived, Merle had to hide the slight bounce in his step. He eyed his brother on their walk to school. He didn't even seem to remember it was his own birthday, and Merle couldn't blame him. They never celebrated. Another year didn't bring much difference to Daryl's appearance, he still looked eleven to Merle.

They soon parted ways; Daryl to the middle school and Merle to the high school. The day seemed to crawl by, especially with the detention Merle unsuccessfully tried to get out of serving. He glumly plopped down in a back desk. This meant Daryl would get home before him, foiling Merle's plans of presenting Daryl with his gift as soon as he walked through the door. Merle supposed it wouldn't matter though, birthdays weren't exactly a grand spectacle.

When he finally did race home, the older Dixon was puzzled to find the front door wide open. Their daddy's truck was gone and living room was eerily quiet. Merle tried to shake the bad feeling but as he padded down the hall his suspicions were only confirmed. The floor was littered with the debris of a fight. The door to the brothers' shared room hung ajar and Merle prepared himself for the worst before kicking it all the way open.

There Daryl Dixon lay, a tangled mass of limbs on the floor. Merle stood frozen in the doorway, taking it all in. His face was a bruised mess, blood pooling in the corner of his swollen lips. His right elbow was bending the way no elbow should and his shirt was torn to shreds. After a brief second Merle rushed over, kneeling beside his baby brother.

"Daryl," he urged, lifting his brother's head. Blood dribbled from his mouth, dampening his slight groan. He stared up at Merle from underneath black eyelids and coughed.

Merle felt a fire stir from deep within him. His cold blue eyes darkened like storm and he found himself almost snarling. How dare their dad touch _him. _

After many pain filled grunts and groans, Daryl was sitting with his back against the wall. He slumped helplessly, willing himself not to cry. Merle dabbed his face with a rag, wiping away all the excess blood.

It was a long trek to the hospital, especially with Daryl's seemingly dead weight in his arms and the loaded backpack on his back.

The ER was deserted, and even if it had been packed Daryl still would've been taken in right away based on his apparent condition.

"What in the world happened?" The nurse inquired worriedly, looking down at the battered child.

"He got in a tussle at school." Merle lied through his teeth. He was good at that. Daryl silently nodded to confirm to the skeptical nurse that, that had been what happened.

Two hours later and they were walking out of there. Well, Merle was walking, and Daryl was limping behind with a bulky cast on his right arm. Merle led and instead of turning left towards home, he turned right. Daryl looked puzzled so Merle patted his backpack, dragging his brother along.

Inside that backpack was a switchblade, two extra shirts, twenty dollars he lifted from a teacher's wallet, their daddy's handgun, and half a bag of gummy worms.

**Well there you go, I know it was short, sorry about that. Do y'all think I should keep going or leave it like this? Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N 1: Woah dudes! (Read again in annoying Scooby-Doo voice) thank you so much for all the feedback! Chapter 2 is now here, because, well, the internet. (And, I know his name wasn't really Tweaker, but I like it.)**

**Chapter 2 - Tweaker **

Waking up on a borrowed couch was not unfamiliar to Daryl. However, this particular morning he stirred from a dead sleep with a dull ache in his side and his head pounding like a bat trying to ram its way out of hell.

He sat up groggily, memories slowly trickling back. The sudden realization of how he got this banged up was enough to snap the sleepiness out with a shiver.

Daryl took in the familiar surroundings, frowning. A ratty couch, crooked antenna TV propped up on wooden crates, and the corrosive smell of dust and rotting shit. He was at Tweaker's house.

Tweaker was Merle's school buddy. They were both juniors, but Tweaker had failed more than a few times. Daryl put him in his mid twenties at least - he even had a kid half Daryl's age.

The whole room made Daryl uneasy. Not even two weeks ago, Daryl had been held at gunpoint by Tweaker himself. Tweaker and Merle had both been crocked off their asses, courtesy of Tweaker, (hence his well given nickname). But it turned out the drugged up flunkie had been content with just scaring Daryl enough to make him hark. All because Daryl had made fun of Tweaker's kid's favorite cartoon.

Mustering up the strength, Daryl threw himself off the couch, wincing as his feet made unforgiving contact with the clustered coffee table. He heard a crack. Wonderful. Wait, when had he taken his boots off?

Looking down at the offending table, Daryl noticed a neon colored bag with a note perched on top. Seeing it was Merle's sloppy scrawl, he picked it up.

_Happy late burthday baby brother. Went out with Tweaker to git some beer. _

_He could improve his spelling, _Daryl thought with a grim smile. Had it really been his birthday? He picked up the package. Gummy worms.

As if on cue, Daryl heard the roar of a motorcycle engine. He popped a gummy worm in his mouth before tugging on his boots and hobbling outside with a masked grin. He loved cherry.

Daryl was surprised that his brother had agreed to ride on the back of Tweaker's bike, like a girl. But then he remembered he shouldn't be surprised it all. Because booze was booze and Merle and Tweaker would do almost anything to get it. _Almost. _

The two spent the rest of the day in a drunken stupor, Daryl watching from a safe distance, until finally Merle reeled him into drinking one, _just one. _But it turned out that _just one _was all Daryl's body needed. It was the first time he had ever drank, and he felt like he was floating.

He soon came crashing back down the earth, however, when he found Tweaker in the bathroom doorway. Hanging. Dead.

**A/N 2: So, um yeah.. **

**Thank you all for the fantabulous reviews: **_**Prettyprincess45, islashlove, Guest, wildcow258, **_**and **_**ABewilderedBear**_

**And for the lovely follows and favs: **_**ABewilderedBear, Prettyprincess45, Daniyell37, **_**and **_**wildcow258**_

**sorry if I missed anyone and thank you for reading! :) **


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